Return to the Labyrinth
by Shreiking Beauty
Summary: Three years after completing the Labyrinth, Sarah is a senior in high school, when her best friend Laura is sent to solve the Labyrinth. Still impressed and very much in love with Sarah, Jareth allows her to accompany Laura, in hopes that his original plans for her will be fulfilled.
1. A Short Time Ago In A Galaxy Near By

**First **_**Labyrinth**_** fic, not new to Fanfiction. Three years after **_**Labyrinth**_**, Sarah is in her senior year of high school when her friend is sent to solve the Labyrinth. Still impressed and very much in love with Sarah, Jareth allows her to accompany her friend in hopes his previous plans will be fulfilled.**

I packed my books into my bag swiftly as the bell rang, ready to get out of the school building as fast as possible. I liked to spend the least possible amount of time in there. Since the events of the labyrinth, I have made a double effort to make friends and live a full life, while promising with all my might to never drift away from my friends in the Underground. That turned out to be easy, considering the ordeal had such an impact that rarely was I not thinking about it.

Finding friends in the real world, however, was much more difficult. I was already known to be a loner, everyone thought I was weird. I had managed to get close to one girl; Laura. Laura Nickels was an only child until about a year ago. I understood how jealous she was of the baby girl, and it pained me to see her struggle with her affection toward her sister, my own experience bringing me very close with Toby.

Hoggle has been telling me about things in the Underground. Apparently, other people who wished away children were sent there to run the Labyrinth. I was special because the Goblin King, Jareth, had taken a specific interest in me, though I don't know why. Maybe that's why I was able to solve the Labyrinth. According to Hoggle, I was the only one ever in the history of the Labyrinth to make it past the junk yard, and few had even made it there.

On my way out to my car, Laura stopped me. "Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Um, home, why?" I asked, stuffing my things into the passenger's seat.

"Well, I have to watch Michelle today, so you should come over. We could watch a couple of movies . . ."

"Uh, gee, I'd really like to, but I've got something I've got to do today." Laura looked at me, clearly trying to hide her disappointment.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, I'll see if I can stop by later, but I've got to get going. Sorry."

"Oh, yeah, ok, see you later, maybe." I shut my car door and drove off. Not that I much minded the teething infant, but I wasn't planning on showing up at all. Laura was extremely short tempered with her, even more so than when I was with Toby. I hurried home, only stopping to kiss Toby on the head as he watched his cartoons before heading up to my room and calling Hoggle through my vanity mirror.

"Hoggle—"

"I got a whole hundred fairies today, Sarah!"

"That's great, Hoggle, but—"

"You should have seen the last runner we got. Didn't even make it to the front door, just kept saying it was too far!"

"Listen, I need to talk to you about something."

"Oh, okay, go ahead," the dwarf said, settling in his seat and looking expectantly at me.

"Okay, so, what would you do if your friend really wanted you to do something that you really don't want to do?"

"Sarah," he started, sighing and rolling his eyes. "If you need me to do something for you, all you have to do is ask."

"No, it's not that . . . I know I can count on you guys for anything. It's just, I have this friend named Laura, and she has a baby sister that she has to babysit all the time, just like me and Toby. She wants me to babysit with her, but I hate it so much." I groaned and leaned back in my chair, staring up at the ceiling. "She's so short-tempered with her, it's like she's a whole different person! What should I do?"

"Hmm, well, I think you should slap some sense into that girl."

"Hoggle, she doesn't understand like I do. No one does. I guess you have to go through something like I had to in order to really appreciate someone like I do Toby. I remember feeling the same way she feels now, and I don't know how to make her understand."

"The best thing you can do is try your hardest. Maybe she'll change, maybe she won't. It's not your responsibility." I looked down at the statue of the Goblin King, remembering how frightening he was, and at the same time how mesmerizing.

"It feels like it sometimes. Anyhow, you're right. I'm going over to her house right now!"

"Good for you," Hoggle said before fading away. I stood up and grabbed my jacket and bag, hurrying out the door and down the stairs.

"Irene, I'm going to Laura's house, okay? I don't know when I'll be back."

"Alright, but remember, Toby's got a dentist appointment tomorrow at 2:30, and you promised to be there." A bond had developed between Toby and I , making me the only one who could comfort Toby at times. I think Irene was a little jealous.

"I will be, I promise. 'Bye, Toby!"

"Buh-bye, Sarah," he said from the living room floor where he was intently pushing little cars around the designs in the carpet.

Laura's house was only a couple of blocks away, very near the park I visited so often. I knocked on the door and looked at the thick quilt of gray clouds overhead. So much for the sunny forecast I watched this morning.

Laura beamed when she opened the door and pulled me inside. Michelle was seated in a bouncy chair in front of the T.V., crying. When Laura walked by, she held her arms up and wailed to be picked up, but Laura ignored her and headed into the kitchen.

"Ugh, I can't hold you right now, Michelle, I've got dinner cooking!" she shouted as if the infant could understand. I picked the up distressed child and bounced her in my arms.

"Hey, I wouldn't want to be left alone either," I told her, "if I was being forced to watch this." I gestured to the scene showing a multitude of clothed, talking animals, and carried her to the kitchen.

"Sarah, do you want some Mac-and-Cheese?"

"It's barely four, and you're already making dinner?"

"With any luck, we'll be able to get Shelly to bed by six. Then maybe we could order a pizza. I smiled at her a little. At least Michelle's shrieking had been reduced to an irritated babble. "Sit her in the high chair, will you?" Laura asked as she began stirring in the cheese powder. I looked at said chair, coated in sticky peanut butter, jelly, cereal, and other foods I couldn't identify. Shelly squirmed and screamed as I tried to set her down.

"Ugh, this is awful, you should clean this," I said, scowling in disgust.

"I told my mom when she was pregnant, 'I'm not cleaning up after that baby.' She was too old to have a child, she's going to have to suffer the consequences."

"If she's so old, you should help her out more. That's kind of selfish, don't you think?"

"Listen; I never wanted another sibling, I never wanted to take care of a baby, I never wanted to clean up, and I made this all well known to my parents. They finally said I didn't have any say in the matter, and I said 'fine, but I'm not gonna clean up after a spoiled little baby.'" I sighed and had to agree with her, remembering almost the exact same feelings just a few years ago.

"Well, when we put her to bed, I'm going to clean this. She's going to get sick sitting in all this filth, and your parents are obviously too busy for it."

"Aw, you don't want to spend all your time cleaning, do you?" I laughed at her distasteful expression.

"Trust me, cleaning someone else's house is much more entertaining. You can just sit and talk to me, and leave the work to an expert."

"Whatever, do what you want. Speaking of doing what you want," she added, shoving a small bowl of Mac-and-Cheese into my arms. "Why don't _you _just feed her?" I laughed again and sat down in a chair next to Shelly.

We talked about school while I tried to spoon feed the fussy infant. By the time the food was out of the bowl, she was covered head to toe in cheese sauce and other leftover foods.

"Looks like someone's ready for a bath." I loved bathing Shelly as I had Toby (after the Labyrinth incident, of course), and bathing was one of the few times Shelly wasn't whining. She enjoyed sitting in the warm water and pushing her toys around, loved the feeling of the shampoo being scrubbed into her soft hair, and liked when I poured water over her head to rinse her off. She got a little fussy when I pulled her out and wrapped her in a fluffy towel, but she really started tantruming when we put her in her jammies.

"This is ridiculous. She's crying because she's tired, but when we put her to bed, she'll cry because she wants to stay up!"

"We've got to just put her to bed and leave her alone," I said as Laura wrestled the child into the crib.

"Ouch, dammit! Let go of my hair!" Laura yelled, wrenching the tiny fist away from her head. I noticed a few strands lingering in Shelly's iron grip. Laura stormed out and hit the light switch, enveloping the screams in darkness. "I wish someone would just take you away!"


	2. Jareth's Musings

**Jareth's POV, very short.**

I watched with heavy anticipation as the girl, Laura, struggled with her sister. Sarah stood by, smiling solemnly at the scene. Just a few short words, one measly sentence, and she would be at his mercy again.

I never expected her to solve the Labyrinth in the first place. I was going to force her to surrender herself to me in exchange for the boy. But no, she outsmarted me. Rather than angering me, however, this just amplified my passion.

She was so strong, so smart. She didn't give herself enough credit; no one did. I would have. I would have given her the moon and the stars, on her word I would have thrown myself over a cliff. All I wanted in return was for her to grace my kingdom by my side. There was so much more than goblins and Labyrinths for her to explore and conquer!

The Labyrinth and I have chosen our queen, and we will not rest until she belongs to us, and us to her. The only problem being that she had to choose this for herself, and she was too noble to throw everything away for us, for me.

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	3. Sarah's Musings

**Sarah's POV again.**

I froze, staring at her in shock. Her expression turned weary, and she started to speak, probably making an excuse, before she noticed the sudden silence from the bedroom. My breath caught in my throat, and as soon as I regained the use of my body, I burst into the room and frantically searched through the blankets to find the crib empty. Little goblins could be heard giggling in the nooks and crannies of the room.

Laura came in then, hyperventilating and obviously confused. My eyes began to tear up as a pleathera of emotions shot through me all at once.

I was sad that Laura would wish that.

I was guilty that _I_ had once wished that.

I was worried that Laura wouldn't get through the Labyrinth.

I was hoping that I would get to go with her.

But most of all, for some reason, I was excited to see the flamboyant Goblin King again.


	4. It begins

There was a flurry of glitter, feathers, and black cloth, when suddenly , the Goblin King himself stood before us.

"Jareth . . ." I squeaked, not knowing what to say. Laura took that moment to snap into action.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "What have you done to my sister?" Jareth was looking at me, but now turned a cold stare to my friend.

"I've granted your wish," he stated simply. He stepped towards her and pulled out a crystal ball, expertly twisting it in his hands. "I'll make you a deal. I keep the girl, and you take this." He tossed the ball and she caught it, looking into it.

"W-what is this?"

"It's a crystal. If you look into it, it will show you your dreams," he drawled seductively.

"No, Laura! Don't take it!" I shouted. Jareth glared at me.

"You stay out of this. You've had your chance; the decision must be hers." But Laura made me proud by tossing the ball back to him.

"I'm sorry, but it's of no use to me. All I want is my sister." I smiled at her encouragingly, but Jareth just smirked, turned toward the window, and gestured for her to follow. She looked at me uncertainly, and I put a hand on her shoulder and guided her to the window.

"Your sister," he said, pointing across the dull, yellowish terrain, "is there, in my castle."

"What is that? Is that a maze?" she asked.

"A 'maze' is for children with crayons. This is a Labyrinth." I suppressed a giggle at how indignant he looked at his beloved Labyrinth being called a 'maze'.

A faint crying could be heard from the direction of the castle. "If you want her back, you have merely to solve my Labyrinth and reach my castle. You have thirteen hours in which to do so, or I keep the child. But don't worry," he suddenly turned to me, and I noticed we were no longer in the bedroom. Jareth stalked closer, gaze never wavering, and I held my ground as he grew uncomfortably close. "You have the one girl who has ever completed the Labyrinth on your side."

Laura looked back and forth between us, utterly befuddled. Jareth now addressed me.

"Sarah, it really has been too long."

"What do you mean, 'on her side?'" I asked suspiciously, putting nothing past him.

"Clever Sarah. I was so pleased to be able to visit you again. I can let no friend of yours go through this alone, now, can I?" He stroked my hair and smiled at me playfully.

"I never thought I'd be here again," I said, once again looking over the landscape.

"Aren't you going to thank me for allowing you to assist your friend?"

"Speaking of, why _are _you letting me do this?" He smirked at me, getting close again and leaning to whisper in my ear.

"Perhaps I was hoping you'd reconsider my offer." I was about to reply, but he put a finger to my lips. "Not now, love. We'll talk again; but for now, time is ticking." He disappeared, leaving behind a golden ornate clock that went to 13 instead of 12. I grabbed Laura's hand and pulled her down the path, silently noting that it was somewhat more trodden on than when I was last here.

"Wait, Sarah, please, tell me what's going on!"

"We don't have time! I barely managed to scrape by last time, and no doubt Jareth has enhanced the security in this place since then." Laura suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"I'm not budging an inch until you tell me what the hell's going on!" I sighed impatiently.

"Fine, then listen and listen good, because every second counts. Three years ago, I wished the goblins would take Toby away, and they did. I had 13 hours to find him at the center of this Labyrinth and I did. I'm the only one in history to do it. The same thing is happening to you. Now, we've got to go! I don't know what he'll do to her if we fail!"

"This is ridiculous! . . . That's it, I must be dreaming!"

"You're not dreaming, you're just stupid!" I said, trying to shove her toward the pond where I first met Hoggle.

"This is insane. I'm not—I mean, this can't be real."

"Put it this way," I huffed, getting nowhere with the slightly larger girl. "In case you're not dreaming, you'd better buck up and help your sister!"

"You're-you're right, I've got to help her!"

"Good, now come on!"

She finally started running until we came around some brush and found Hoggle, busily spraying rogue fairies. "HOGGLE!" I yelled in elation, running up to him. I fell on my knees and hugged him tight.

"Sarah, what are you doing here?" he asked incredulously.

"My friend Laura has to get to the castle, will you help us?"

"Well, you know I'll go with you, but I'm not strictly allowed to help you."

"But, you helped _me,_ didn't you?"

"Sort of, you see, I can't tell you which way to go or anything like that. I'm okay for getting out of sticky situations, but not much else."

"That's okay, we'll just go the same way I went last time . . . or try to, at least."

"I don't think _you_ can tell her which way to go, either."

"What?! What are we supposed to do, then?"

"Hey," Laura interjected. "I'm not totally useless! . . . and, who's this?" I looked at the dwarf and back at her. He was still wearing my plastic bracelet, I noticed.

"This is Hoggle, he helped me when I was here." Laura smiled sweetly and held out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Higgle," she said, and I giggled.

"Uh, it's Hoggle . . . anyway, what are we doing standing around here? Let's get going!" I grinned and he led us into the door. I looked back and forth down the long, seemingly unending corridors.

"Wow . . . déjà vu." Laura took off running in the same direction I had years ago, and Hoggle and I followed.

"Easy, I've got short legs!" Hoggle huffed.

"It goes on forever, there aren't any turns!" She started slowing down, looking hopeless. We walked for a while, and I realized that when I tried to tell her about the secret openings, no sound would come out.

"You're right, Hoggle, I can't tell her which way to go . . . but that worm told me . . . I don't understand!"

"Well, a worm isn't so much subject to the rules. Plus, everything's been really tightened up since you beat this place." I looked at the strange plants on the walls, with eyeballs watching me, and wondered if Jareth was using them to watch us.

"Ay, there's a familiar face!"

Laura stopped and looked around. "Who said that?"

"Ahllo, remember me?" I looked down and saw a small blue and green worm wearing a red scarf.

"Hey, I remember you! How's the wife?"

"Ah, she's a'right. You got time to come meet 'er, 'ave ya?"

"No, sorry, we're in a hurry again."

"S'a'right. Most people come 'round here seem to be. 'Spect it's the moisture. 'Course, I love it!"

"Yeah, anyway, can you help my friend, she's kind of lost."

"Why doncha jus' head on through that 'ole 'cross the way, like ya did last time?"

"Good idea, thank you." Laura kneeled down and smiled at the worm.

"What a sweet little worm! Thank you for the help!" She then walked over to the wall. "It—it's not an opening, though . . ."

"Try walkin' through it, you'll see wah ah mean." He smiled knowingly and I watched Laura mimic my actions until she discovered the way. She thanked the worm again and walked to the right. I remembered the worm telling me to 'never go' the other way, and wondered what was over there, but followed Laura anyway.


End file.
